Process of making catalyzers



A. A. BACKHAUS AND F. B. ARENTZ.

PROCESS 0F MAKING CATALYZERS.

APPLICATION FILED IUNE l5 Patented May 3, 1921.

'UNITED sTATEs PATENT oFFicE.

ARTHUR A. BACKHAUS, 0F BALTIMORE, AND FRED B. ABENTZ, Ol' CURTIS BAY,

maintain,y AssieNoss-To or wns'i` vmeiNnL U. S. INDUSTRIAL ALCOHOL C0., A CORPORATION rnocnss or MAKING cArALYzEns.

Specication of Letters Patent.

Patented May 3, 1921.

Application led J'une 15, 1918. Serial No. 240,226.

' of Making Catalyzers, and do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

Our invention relates particularly to a process ofk producing catalyzers which are used in the production of aldehydes.

The object of our invention is to'provide a process by which catalyzers of the above type ma be advantageously made and by which e cient catalyzers may be obtained to bring about the production of aldehydes,

as for example, acetaldehyde, by passing' alcohol over a catalyzer of this character` while heated.

Another object of our invention-is to provide a process of producing catalyzers containing a catalytic metal such, for example, as co per, nickel, chromium or iron, to be used or the production of aldehydes in this way.

urther objects ofour invention will ap-` pear from the detailed description thereof contained hereinafter.

While our invention is capable of being carried out in may dierent ways, we shall describe hereinafter'only one way of carrying out the same, and shall show only one form of apparatus used in connection with the same in the accompanying drawing, in which- The figure is a vertical section of a catalyzer made in accordance with our invention.

In carrying out our process, we ll a copper tube 1 with a large number of substantially parallel disks 2 of permeable material, as for example copper gauze, which may be contiguous with pne anotherpor separated by rings 3, as d red.

The metal is a very good conductor of heat, and in this way the reaction temperature ma be readily carried to'all arts of the cata yzer tube 1, with which t edisks are shownas contacting. In order to make the gauze disks 2 active so as to bring about the change from alcoho to aeetaldehyde, the surfaces of the disks 2 are, in the present embodiment of our invention, coated with a finely divided catalytic metal by pourin a solution of a catalytic metal nitrate, suc

for exam le as cupric nitrate or nickel nitrate MNO?)2 or both, into the catalyzer tube 1, and then passing ammonia gas through the tube to precipitate in situ the hydroxid upon the gauze disks 2. The' hydroxid is then partially decomposed by heating to a vtemperature of 300 C. or higher, and is then reduced in situ by means such as a` current of hydrogen heated to approximately 300 C.

Instead of proceeding as above, by uring in la nitrate, we may introduce a 'lute solution of nitric acid having a strength of 5 to 10%, and then proceeding as before to form the finely divided catalytic metal upon the disks 2.

In this way a very finely divided de osit of the metal is carried by the meshes o the disks 2, and thereafter, when a'current of vapors of an alcohol, such for example as ethyl alcohol, is passed through the tube 1 while heated to a temperature of approximately 300 C., the finely divided catalytic' Durin the formation of the acetaldehyde,

the heating of the catalyzer tube 1 may be very effectivel carried out by the external application o heat, which is readil conveyed to all portions of the catalytic material byreason of the fact that the latter is carried upon the disks of gauze 2, which form very effective conductors of heat. In this way the acetaldehyde will be very uniforml formed from the alcohol va rs.

While we have described o ur invention above in detail, we wish it to be understood that many changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention.

We claim:

1. The process which comprises forming a salt of a catalytic metal upon a metal body by adding a salt to said body and then depositing a finely divided catalytic metal by 2. The process which comprises forming cupric nitrate upon a body of metal gauze and then depositing nely divided metallic copper by precipitating and afterward reducing in situ by aeriform agents from said salt u n said gauze.

3. 'lilie rocess which comprises forming a nitrate ci) a catal ic metal upon al metal bod the nitrate ing formed thereon b applying a solution `of a nitrate of the meta and then depositing -a finely divided catalytic metal by precipitating and afterward reducing in, situ by aeriform agents from Said Salt upon said body.

4. The process which comprises forming cupric nitrate upon a disk of metal gauze, the nitrate being formed thereon by applyving a solution of cupric nitrate, and then depositing nely divided metallic copper by precipitating and afterward reducing in situ by aeri orm agents from said salt upon said auze.

.5. he process which comprises forming a nitrate of a catalytic metal upon a metal body, the nitrate being formed thereon b ap ying a solution of a nitrate of the meta an then depositing a finely divided catalytic metal from said salt upon said body b treating with ammonia to form a hydroxi igmtmg to form an oxid from said hydroxid, and reducing the oxid with a current of hydrogen.

6. The process which comprises forming cupric nitrate upon a disk of metal gauze, the nitrate being formed thereon'by applying a solution of cupric nitrate, and then depositin finely divided metallic copper from sal salt upon said gauze b treating with' ammonia toform a hydroxid, igniting to form an oxid from said hydroxid, and reducing the oxid with'a current of hydrogen.

7. The process which comprises (1) assembling, within a metallic tube, Va large number of parallel permeable disks, made of heat-conductive material and in heat conductive relationship with said tube, (2) applying a dissolved salt of a catalytic metal thereto, (3) passing an -aeriform precipitant into contact therewith, (4) partially decomposing the precipitate by heat, and then (5) reducing the metal in situ within said tube.

In testimony that we claim the foregoing we have hereunto set our hands.

ARTHUR A. BACKHAUS. FRED B. ARENTZ. Witnesses:

JOHN P. GIsoHEL,

ARTHUR Wmolrr. 

